1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that is capable of two-color printing, a control method therefor, and a storage medium storing control program therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are some printing apparatuses that are capable of two-color printing using two colors designated in addition to full color printing and monochrome printing (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2010-288076 (JP 2010-288076A)). Usually, a maintenance support contract for a printing apparatus like a multifunctional peripheral device offers service to collect a usage fee according to a printing sheet count. A usage fee per sheet varies depending on number of colors (full color, two-color, or monochrome). The usage fee per sheet for the two-color printing is cheaper than that for the full color printing.
Moreover, the printing apparatus disclosed in JP 2010-288076A saves PDL (Page Description Language) data, which is outputted from the printer driver of a PC connected via a network, into a document storage area inside or outside of the printing apparatus (see paragraph 0015). The PDL data saved in the document storage area can be printed in response to a user's operation.
However, the above-mentioned technique has a problem that a development process, which is necessary to develop the PDL data to raster image data when printing the PDL data saved in the document storage area, becomes a neck that consumes time.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-285388 (JP H10-285388A) discloses a technique that saves raster image data that is obtained by developing the PDL data and omits the development process at the time of printing in order to reduce printing time. However, JP H10-285388A does not suggest a process in the two-color printing.